News in brief

Car bombers target town fair

A CAR bomb was found yesterday in the centre of Ballycastle, Co Antrim, where thousands of people were gathering for the Auld Lammas Fair.

Police discovered the device by chance and were clearing the area when they received a telephone warning, believed to be from extreme loyalists.

The car was parked in the seaside resort early yesterday and the bomb, which was defused, consisted of a timer, detonator and two cans of inflammable liquid.

An RUC officer said: "The streets were packed with people. There could have been absolute carnage." Last night the Red Hand Defenders, a cover name used by the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Freedom Fighters, claimed responsibility.

A spokesman said the tribunal could sit with two members, or even one.

She declined to comment on suggestions that the credibility of the inquiry into the killing by troops of 14 civilians in Londonderry on Jan 30, 1972, would be weakened if the balance of its membership was altered.

Police make record drugs bust

ARMED police and customs officers seized a million ecstasy tablets with a street value of £12 million in a raid on a warehouse in a Cotswolds village.

Customs officers said it was believed to be the biggest seizure of the drug in Britain. More than 40 officers took part in the raid in Upper Rissington, Glos, on Sunday night.

Police arrested four Britons, all in their 30s and 40s, at the scene. Two of them gave German addresses. The men, suspected of possessing drugs with intent to supply, were being questioned yesterday in Stroud, Glos.

Pop singer faces gun charge

A MEMBER of the "garage" pop group So Solid Crew appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday charged with possessing a gun and making threats to kill.

Ashley Walters, 19, of Camberwell, south London, was remanded on conditional bail until a plea and directions hearing on Nov 5.

So Solid Crew has been acclaimed for the single 21 seconds, which allows each member of the 30-strong band 21 seconds on the microphone. The record knocked Atomic Kitten's Eternal Flame off the number one spot last week.

Autumn flood worst on record

It was the third highest in any three-month period, only exceeded in 1799 and 1929-30. Elliot Morley, flood defence minister, announced the findings of a research project into the widespread flooding that hit England and Wales in the autumn of 2000.

The study found that, although the floods were extreme, they cannot in themselves be attributed to climate change.

Kate Hampton, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: "No particular flood can be proved to be caused by climate change but, if we don't act, we will see more floods in future."

Firemen find cat buried in floor

A CAT has been rescued by firemen after being trapped for three weeks in a 6in pipe beneath a concrete floor in the garage of a new house.

The 12-year-old tabby, which survived by licking condensation on the pipe sides, was sealed in when workmen poured the concrete.

A week after moving into the new house near Sittingbourne, Kent, Susan Mersh and her family heard the cat's cries and called the fire brigade. Firemen dug up part of the floor to reach the cat which was later reunited with its owner in a neighbouring street.